Portable seat



Feb. 8, 1938.

Filed June 21, 193

ATTOEME):

Patented Feb. 8, 1938 UNITED STATES PORTABLE SEAT Frank A. Wilsdorf, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Nu-linc Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application June 21, 1934, Serial No. 731,721

2 Claims. (Cl. 155-133) My invention has relation to improvements in portable seats and. it consists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

,My improved seat comprises a seat member and a back rest hinged thereto, both seat member'and back rest being formed of a light, pliable material, such as cardboard, and connected by braces which fold between the seatmember and 15 The principal application in my improved seat is in connection with ones attendance at var- Y ious exhibitions, such as baseball games where I in many cases only. rough benches are provided for the patrons. My improved seat may be placed on such a bench and not only give protection to ones clothes, but also will provide a substantial back rest so that one may view the exhibition in comfort.

A further object of the invention is to provide a portable seat that isdurable and may be used time after time, although the initial cost thereof may be extremely low on account of its sim- "plicity of construction. Further and other advantages will be better apparent from a detailed description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure l is a perspective view of my improved portable seat with the back erected so that the seat is ready for use; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of 35 the seat with the back member shown dotted in its collapsed or foldedposition; Fig. 3 is a top plan of the seat in its collapsedposition, the' back rest being shown on top of the seat I member; Fig. 4 is a, plan view of the blank of ma- 40 terial from which the seat is made; and Fig. 5 y is a vertical section of a modified form of back rest and a portion of the seat member, said back rest being covered with an advertising bill.

' Referring to the drawing, I represents a seat member and 2 a back rest hinged thereto by means of a cord 3 laced through two series of openings 4 and 5 in the back rest and seat mem- .ber respectively. The seat member I and back rest-2 are cutfrom a single blank B (Fig. 4)

50 and the line of division along which the two members are separated being arcuate, as shown in said figure, for a purpose presently-toappear. In addition to the hinging cord 3, the seat member I and back rest 2 are held together by 55 means of cord'braces 6 and I passing through openings 8 and 9 at each side of the back rest 2, and I0 and I I at each side of the seat member I. By referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the braces 6 and 1 are formed from a single cord passed through one of the openings III in the bottom member I, then through opening 8 in the back rest 2 on the same side of the seat, the cord then extending to the opposite opening 8 in the back rest from where it is brought through the opposite opening I0 in the bottom member. 10 The cord is then brought along the under side of the seat member I to opening II and then upwardly to opening 9 in the back rest 2, across the back of said back rest to the opposite opening 9, and thence downwardly through the opposite opening II and across the under side of the bottom member I Where the two ends of the cord are tied together, as shown by the knot I2. Of course, the manner of fastening the ends of the cord together is immaterial, and any fastening devices suitable for this purpose may be used. The length of the cord that is used to form the braces 6 and 1 is such as to provide braces of the proper length to hold the back rest in a slightly reclining position (as shown in Fig. 2). If in use, the cord should stretch, or if one should desire to change the angularity of the back rest 2, the cord may either be lengthened or shortened as required.

It will be observed (Fig. 3) that when the back rest 2 .is folded downwardly over the bottom member I the lower corners I 3, I3 thereof will project beyond the adjacent corners l4, I4 of the seat member I. This is due to the fact that the bottom edge I5 of the back rest 2 is secured to the rear edge I6 of the seat member I and caused to cross the line of curvature of the rear edge I6 of the seat member I by tightly securing the laced cord 3 which forms the hinge. There should be just sufiicient play in the hinge cord to enable the bottom member I and back rest 2 to be folded together without causing any undue strain on the material of which these members are composed. It is an advantage to have the corners I3, I3 overlap the corners I4, I4 because 5 these corners I3 will then butt against the corners I4 when the back rest 2 is raised, which serves to stifien the back rest along the hinge line.

The bottom member I and back rest 2 are preferably formed of such material as heavy cardboard, or fibre board, which is pliant so as toyield under pressure and thus conform to the shape of the person using the seat. In other words, in use the back member will become concave and assume the general shape of a back of an ordinary chair.

When one desires to pick up the portable seat he merely folds the back rest down over the bottom member, making certain at the same time that the cord braces 6 and 1 are folded inwardly, as shown dotted in Fig. 3. He then has a compact package of extreme light weight and may be readily tucked under the arm.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 I show metallic guide strips H, H for those portions [8, l9 of the cord extending behind the back rest 2 and over the entire back I may glue a sheet 20 containing an advertising bill. Obviously, the guide strips l1, H are to enable the portions I8, I9 of the cord to be slipped for the purpose of taking up play, notwithstanding the presence of the sheet 29 across the back.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A portable seat comprising a seat member and back rest hinged thereto, the hinged edges of the seat member and back rest being arcuate, the ends ofthe hinged edge of the back rest overlapping the ends of the hinged edge of the seat member so that said edges abut when the back rest is raised, and suitable braces extending between the seat member and the back rest at the sides thereof.

2. A folding seat as set forth, comprising a seat member constructed of stiff flexible material, a back member, said back member being constructed of flexible material sufliciently stiff to normally stand on one edge means for hingedly securing the members together and a flexible bracing means for holding the seat member and the back member in open position, said bracing means comprising a pair of flexible members disposed one on each side of the seat member and extending through the back member one adjacent each side and adjacent the upper end thereof, and a flexible connecting member connecting the upper ends of the flexible bracing members together and engaging against the rear side of the back member whereby to prevent undue bending of the back member.

FRANK A. WILSDORF. 

